Gately funeral set for Saturday

Stephen Gately was found on Saturday at his holiday home in Spain

Boyzone singer Stephen Gately's funeral will take place in Dublin on Saturday afternoon, it has been confirmed.

His bandmates will fly to Majorca on Friday to bring his body home.

The Gately family will hold a private family mass that night, followed by a funeral service at St Lawrence O'Toole's Church at midday on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the results of the post- mortem examination were announced and revealed the 33-year-old singer died of "natural causes".

In a statement, Boyzone said: "The Boyz plan to return to Majorca on Friday to bring their brother back home to Dublin."

Louis Walsh, who created the band, has confirmed he will be attending the funeral and will miss The X Factor shows this weekend.

An ITV statement said: "Due to recent tragic events, Louis Walsh will not be appearing on either the Saturday or Sunday live X Factor shows.

"Louis has been in close contact with his acts throughout the week, although his opinions will not be represented in the show this weekend."

Walsh has paid tribute to the star and remembered him as a "great, great professional".

He told Irish broadcaster RTE the other Boyzone members, including solo star Ronan Keating, were "devastated" by the news.

"It's like they have lost their very, very best friend, and me too.

"The boys are like his family now. The four boys were like four daddies for him."

Natural causes

Gately was found dead on a sofa in his Majorcan holiday home on Saturday, after a night out with his civil partner Andrew Cowles.

A post-mortem examination revealed he suffered pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs.

Further tests are being carried out on the fluid to confirm the result.

Widespread newspaper speculation suggested Gately had been drunk or taken drugs the night he died.

Walsh has pulled out of The X Factor to attend the funeral

"The family are pleased that the post-mortem has been completed," said the family's lawyer, Gerald Kean.

"They are pleased that the results of the post-mortem vindicate exactly what they said all along, that Stephen died as a result of natural causes.

"They would like to thank the authorities in Spain and Ireland for doing everything in their power to complete formalities as quickly as possible to get Stephen's body home," he added.